I'm not sure anyone would have guessed the baseball season could end tonight. Then again, I'm not sure anyone would have guessed the Giants could hold the Tigers to three total runs in Games 1-3 of the World Series … without having sent their ace to the mound.

It's been a stunning Fall Classic so far, and though it's not officially over yet, let's be honest. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the World Series. And only three of the 23 teams that have faced a 3-0 deficit have even been able to force a Game 5.

So the Giants will be smelling blood tonight and will try to wrap this thing up at Comerica Park. They'll hand the ball to Matt Cain, who won Game 7 of the NLCS and has been Mr. Consistency for them all season. Detroit's Max Scherzer has been fantastic in the postseason, but it won't matter how he pitches tonight if his teammates can't produce some semblance of offense.

Since there's obviously nowhere to go around D.C. tonight, might as well batten down the hatches and watch Game 4 with the rest of us. I'll again share my thoughts along the way in the comments section…

As for the Giants methinks they were lucky to have met a team that sat around way too long waiting after the ALCS. The sense of urgency had left them and thought it might be a cake ride after defeating the mighty Yankees … ~smiles~ Just goes to show the NL might be the better league at this point.

Natsjack. one thing I love about how the Giants have been winning.. it shows the importance of good defense (Pete F'ing Kozma boots balls in STL series). The Tigers infield is a group of butchers. They have missed on some outs and some DPs.

If the Giants win, is the "deadline" for ALR Signing on Friday? And by deadline, the one the MLB imposes before he can go talk to other teams?I guess I'd be tempted to answer it like this if I were the Nat's FO. Uhmmm gee its not like we don't have any other alternative to having ALR at first base? There are actually far more good to potentially great possibilities than the Nats had when Dunn left for the ChiSox. And you know what? Adam LaRoche has to know that. He has to know that Tyler Moore isn't just another kid from Mississippi. He watched Morse from the sidelines a season ago and knows what he can do. And in spite of what most here say (including bringing up the dreaded AAAA scarlet letters) the Nats have some potential in Corey Brown, Erik Komatsu, Roger Bernadina, and eventually Brian Goodwin. Plus, there's Chris Marerro and apparently Matt Skole may now end up playing first base. So, La Roche really has to want to come back and he has to be willing to accommodate the team the way Zimmerman did. If not I think its save to say it'll be sayonara after sending a lot of accolades in his direction. What the Nats really need is another young top of the rotation starter … I expect some hints about an upcoming trade to meet that requirement will begin to trickle out sooner-ro-later.Plus some bullpen help on the left side.

Nats Jack EXACTLY. I think it's funny that probably the 3 best offenses (Rangers 2 years and Tigers this year) have all been beat by pitching and defense. That kid Crawford that the Giants have has put on a clinic at short this series.

MicheleS: To answer your earlier question about LaRoche, if the series ends tonight, everyone will become a free agent tomorrow. Teams then have five days (Monday-Friday) to exclusively negotiate with those players. On the 6th day (in this case, Saturday) they'd be free to talk to all teams.

And they're underway in Detroit. Looks kind of chilly there. Of course, we here in D.C. would probably rather be dealing with the cold right now than what we're going to experience over the next 48 hours.

MicheleS: agreed on the anthem singers but guess who controls that? It sure isn't the home team. Fox pays huge dollars for this show and they place their product in as many places as possible. It would be great if they let DC Washington and others sing the anthem but it aint' going to happen.Like others, I want this series over so we can get to the important stuff. I tend to agree with Peric that LaRoche has to see what is behind him and while I would love to have him back, I would rather have Price or Grienke.Go Nats!!

The weather here and in Detroit (not to mention Philly, New York and lots of other places) just re-emphasize how greedy MLB is. If each team would just play one double header a month, they could end the season a week early and all this would have been over by now. It just isn't going to happen though.Tigers pitcher has been dominant, not just in the post season but for 3 weeks prior. This could be fun!!

MicheleS said… Sunshine.. Batolin guy is better than those tween stars.Praise so faint as to be barely audible.I watch Fox once a year for baseball and every so often for a Skins game. Their self-promotion shillery never ceases to stun me. So don't even get me started on these so-called tweeners.

And Rasmussen, FOX's political polling outfit is considered questionable, biases, and inaccurate for a plethora of reasons according to Andrew S. Tannenbaum PhD. There really isn't much that FOX does well at this point.

Prince Fielder: Now 1-for-11 with zero RBI in the series. Guess $214 million doesn't buy you what it used to.Danny Espinosa wasn't that bad and at least he brings a glove that is gold glove caliber at multiple positions. The Nats are luckier than most of its fan base realizes.

MicheleS, don't expect a MASN breakup unless Lerner buys his way out which isn't necessary rather Angelos will try to give them a bigger share which is a raw deal. 49% of nothing is nothing. This deal backfired on Angelos and he is panicking. The Nats viewing region contributes 68% of the revenue so fairness starts with 68%.

How much money do you think we offered Prince? ESPN talking about the death of Scherzer's brother this season. Very sensitively. Not even close to Fox coverage. Wow- the Giants again. That just happened.

At this point, the biggest question may not be whether the Tigers can win the series, or even win one game, but whether they can hold a lead at any point. We're 29 innings through the series and they've yet to do it.

And if you had Inning No. 30 for the first time the Tigers would take a lead in the World Series … you win! Not sure how that ball cleared the right field fence. Looked like a routine fly off Cabrera's bat. But the wind is blowing out tonight, and it certainly appeared to help carry that one. Detroit up 2-1 after three.

AT&T is the best baseball park in the majors of all the newer post-Camden Yards parks. Its actually a landmark in San Francisco on the waterfront. It fits the city and its good to see the city supporting the team. Still it would be nice if ownership let the A's move to San Jose and a new park.

I could rip on Quintin Berry for yet another foolish headfirst dive into first base, but I'll instead compliment Brandon Crawford on another fantastic play in the field. This guy looks poised to be a real breakout shortstop next season.

Buster Posey to the rescue for the Giants. Just turned on one and hooked it inside the left field foul pole for a 2-run homer that puts San Francisco back on top 3-2 in the sixth.It's gonna take all the fortitude the Tigers can muster up to regain the lead now.

And now Delmon Young to the rescue for the Tigers! Game tied again thanks to Dmitri's little brother. (Da Meat Hook is at the game, by the way — he tweeted a photo of himself with Magglio Ordonez watching from the stands. And I wouldn't be shocked if Robert Fick is somewhere nearby as well.)

Steve M.: How is it that some of your comments are getting tagged as spam, but then you're able to post other comments letting me know they were commented as spam?Are you using more than one computer/phone/browser?

Ghost Of Steve M. said… Mark, No funny biz. Just sending from my tablet using my air card as my internet.It seems when I use obscure words maybe it is tagging it or that I'm out of the area.October 28, 2012 10:19 PM ________________________________Yah, that word "awry" is very Spam worthy!

Coming in here late after my bowling league.Boy howdy, that was a lousy rendition of God Bless America. I guess not all military singers do a bang-up job, eh? Who had the melody on that thing?Mercifully, I'm listening to the Detroit radio guys again, but my wife alerted me to the hideous rendition in time to turn up the TV. Whew!Glad to see the Tigers actually playing baseball tonight.

Interesting that Bruce Bochy (who has a great bullpen) is sticking with Cain for the bottom of the 7th. Looked to me like he was really fading in the 6th, especially his slider (which turned flat). Curious move by Bochy in a tie game.

Mark Zuckerman said… Interesting that Bruce Bochy (who has a great bullpen) is sticking with Cain for the bottom of the 7th. Looked to me like he was really fading in the 6th, especially his slider (which turned flat). Curious move by Bochy in a tie game. October 28, 2012 10:33 PM ___________________________________Bochy keeps pushing the buttons of unorthodox moves and its called luck. You push it too long and its called pushing your luck.It will be interesting to see how it works out for him.

Funny. I got an email notice of a new comment by Nats Lady, but when I refresh the blog page here in a browser, it's not in the list.For what it's worth, our Verizon voicemail seems to be dead in Vienna. Phone is still working okay, but we can't reach the voicemail computer to hear a message.

So, how many Nats fans out there one year ago would have guessed they'd be clamoring for the team to re-sign Adam LaRoche while thanking their deity of choice the Nats didn't sign Prince Fielder?Fielder continues to have a miserable World Series. Though Cabrera and Young didn't exactly have good-looking at-bats against Jeremy Affeldt in the bottom of the eighth, either.Tie game heading to the ninth. Can't ask for any more than that.

I know you can't judge a player's value over the long-term by World Series performance–but I am surely glad the Nats stayed with LaRoche and let Fielder get paid insane money by Detroit.Isn't this the kind of situation they were counting on him coming up big for?

but I am surely glad the Nats stayed with LaRoche and let Fielder get paid insane money by Detroit.They did this for the same reason they might not sign LaRoche disappointing fans as did letting the Dunkey go. They've got guys in their farm system who are ready to go … plus at least 3 on the bench who may deserve to start. We just didn't see it and Rizzo and the top guys in their FO did,Its why we won't be seeing Bourn anytime soon or at all …

OK, I've been ripping on Fox's coverage, but that super-slo-mo replay of Infante getting drilled by a pitch on the left hand was amazing. Wow, that had to hurt. Can you say broken hamate bone?Extra innings…

Bonus baseball.Mark, even those of us who are listening to ESPN Radio or SF or Det get the benefit of the super slo-mo. That was a great picture. And yep, that had to have been an actual injury, the way they handled Infante.

Well, if someone was going to come up with a huge hit in extra innings to put the Giants within 3 outs of winning the World Series, it just had to be Scutaro, right?Here we go … last chance for Detroit…

Wow. Cabrera takes a fastball right down Broadway to end the season.I know these Giants have a completely different roster than they did in 2010, but that's still two World Series titles in three years. And in today's game, that's really impressive. Congrats to a fantastic organization and a fantastic baseball town.Oh and by the way, Adam LaRoche and Edwin Jackson just became free agents. The Nats have exclusive negotiating rights with them until Saturday, at which point they're free to talk to everyone.

What a great start to Buster's career! Wins ROY and World Series first full season and then possibly MVP and another World Series ring third season. Hope he keeps up the offensive and defensive production!

Oh, that would have been on rookie hazing day. Last road trip of the season. Nice moniker, btw.Marco Scooter O said… (Ha ha, I almost said "tart up.")Nice to hear of a Meat Hook sighting.Mark Zuckerman said… And now Delmon Young to the rescue for the Tigers! Game tied again thanks to Dmitri's little brother. (Da Meat Hook is at the game, by the way — he tweeted a photo of himself with Magglio Ordonez watching from the stands. And I wouldn't be shocked if Robert Fick is somewhere nearby as well.) October 28, 2012 10:09 PM

seven straight games what?btw Swami, 3 All star wins by NL. I have a theory that since game has recently shifted to more of its pitching oriented origins, NL will continue to be more dominant of the two leagues.

Well, I sure didn't see this sweep coming, but I think there are some important lessons here for the Nats– The Giants' pitchers attack the zone. Here it is, pal. There's none of the agonizing nibbling we saw from Gio and Storen in Game 5.– After watching this series, especially Gregor Blanco's Sandy Amoros impression, I think an athletic outfield matters. Morse and TMO are tremendous bats, but I'm really looking forward to an outfield of Werth, Goodwin, Harper.– Speaking of Goodwin, this is no banjo hitter. In 11 AFL games he has 9 extra base hits — four doubles, two triples and three homers. I'm not saying he's Rickey — no one steals bases like that — but Goodwin is more Rickey than Michael Bourn. — Now let's sign LaRoche and deal for a stud pitcher to replace EJAX.